by Simone Pond
“It’s called the Survivor’s Shuffle,” he said.
“Stupid name,” she mumbled.
He stood there, not saying anything.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss. They stayed locked together as they stumbled across the room and onto the bed. Grace needed to stop him. She needed to study for her exams. But she couldn’t resist his lips moving down her neck. Her heart thumped like a cannon shooting over and over. Each touch was like an electric current bolting through her limbs. She really wanted Lucas, but she wanted to be a soldier more.
“We need to stop,” she panted, shoving him away. “We have exams tomorrow.”
He rolled onto his back, breathing heavily. They stayed like that for a few minutes, no words between them.
“I found my weakness,” Grace said.
“I’m happy to oblige.” He smiled.
“Please. I’m talking about the team drills.”
“And?”
Grace got off the bed and readjusted her ponytail. “I’m not doing my job in Search & Rescue.”
Lucas got up and patted her head. “I’m glad you finally came around.”
She pushed away his hand and laughed. “I’m glad you finally came around.”
He headed toward the door. “I’ll get going, but do me a favor, Grace.”
“Anything for my team leader.” She jokingly jumped into attention.
“Ace your exams tomorrow. I plan on taking you to the Survivor’s Shuffle.”
“Can we not call it that?”
“So, it’s a date?”
“If you say so.” She saluted him. “Sir.”
“It’s an order.”
She shoved him out into the hallway and sealed the door shut. He was sweet, and she was happy for the about-face, but she still needed to study.
*
The next day, Grace arrived at the Delta training room feeling confident that she had crushed her first big Search & Rescue exam. That part was over. Now she had to do well in the team drill and she’d be golden. She sat down in her assigned seat and waited for her teammates. When they entered the Delta training room, they looked as drained as she felt. Missakian’s black headband was resting around his neck like a deflated scarf. Blythe dropped into her chair and folded her arms across her chest. The scowl on her face was more severe than usual. Lucas strutted into the room and gave a subtle wink to Grace that the others didn’t catch.
As Lucas settled into his chair, they said in unison, “You ready to kick some butt?”
“Good luck, team,” Lucas said, focusing on Grace.
They plugged into the system panel to begin their drill . . .
Inside the virtual, Grace found herself standing in the middle of a desolate boulevard surrounded by tall buildings with ads plastered on them. She knew this location. It’d be hard to forget.
“Sunset Boulevard,” she said to herself.
The others weren’t with her. That was strange. They always ended up together. That’s when she knew this drill was similar to the first one she took at orientation. It was designed to test an individual’s aptitude for their specific role. In her case, Search & Rescue.
A missile whizzed overhead and collided into one of the gargantuan hotels, blasting chunks of cement everywhere. Then a fusillade of smaller rocket-type launchers started coming in from behind, hitting the billboards and igniting them on fire. The buildings were crumbling by the second, and she needed to move out of the middle of the street. She ran over to the curb and ducked between a couple of oversized vehicles. There was noise all around her and smoke billowing down the middle of the street. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew this wasn’t just about her survival. Her job was to find and extract her team members and get them to safety.
Sticking close to the parked cars, she stayed low and jogged down the street toward the action, assuming that’s where she’d find the others. She got to an intersection and scanned the area before darting across the street. That’s when she saw a body in the gutter. She ran over to find Blythe, half conscious, with a metal rod stuck in her chest. Punctured lung. She checked her pulse, which was barely moving.
“They got me, go on without me,” Blythe mumbled.
“No way. I know what happens if I leave you behind. Listen, I need you to stay calm.”
“I couldn’t get much calmer. Maybe you should turn it down a few degrees,” Blythe said.
For a split second, Grace considered leaving her in the gutter.
“I gotta get you out of the street so I can fix you up. There’s an alcove only fifty feet away. I’m gonna drag you over. Okay?”
Grace grabbed Blythe by the ankles and pulled her across the sidewalk into the alcove of the shop. Another bomb dropped, shaking the earth. Grace sat down next to Blythe and opened up her medical bag. First she’d need to remove the piece of metal, then seal the wound with petroleum jelly and a bandage. She tore open Blythe’s jumpsuit to get a clean view of the puncture. Good thing the piece of metal wasn’t too big. Still, Blythe released a howl as Grace pulled it out of her chest. Blood gushed out. She quickly cleaned the area and filled the hole with the jelly and sealed the bandage over the wound. Blythe was having trouble breathing. Grace dug through her supplies and pulled out a syringe.
“I need you to turn a little. This is gonna hurt for a second.” Grace pushed the hollow needle into the area above one of Blythe’s ribs, being mindful not to hit any veins, nerves, or arteries. As she went in, she slowly pulled back on the syringe until she was pulling back air. She sucked out as much as she could to get Blythe breathing a little better.
“This will have to do for now while I go look for the others. You’ll have to stay completely still.”
Blythe blinked her eyes.
“Try not to die.” Grace ran off, keeping low against the cars. “Lucas! Missakian!” she yelled.
“Grace,” a muffled voice came from behind a pile of rubble. It sounded like Lucas.
“Where are you?” she yelled.
“Over here. You gotta help me, my leg’s pinned.”
Grace ran toward the pile of smoldering rubble. She cringed when she saw her team leader pinned halfway under a slab of concrete. She bent down and tried lifting it up, but it was too heavy.
“I need to find something to pry it off of you,” she told Lucas.
“You better go on without me—you’ll get shot down.”
“I’m not leaving you behind, sir. I’ll get you out of this.” Grace rummaged through the debris, digging for something sturdy. She found a five-foot beam and dragged it back over to Lucas. She put a large rock close to his hand, then placed another one about sixteen inches from the slab and laid the beam over it.
“It’s like a seesaw. Those things kids play on,” he mumbled.
“I know what a seesaw is,” she said.
“So serious.”
“I don’t want you to die. So pay attention. I’m gonna get the beam under the slab, then jump on the other end. Hopefully it won’t snap. Once it’s up, shove that rock under the slab.” She looked down at Lucas, who was smiling. She almost got distracted, but paid attention to the matter at hand: freeing his leg. “On three. One, two, three . . .”
Grace jumped on the end of the beam, using all of her body weight. The slab rose up enough for Lucas to shove the rock underneath just before the beam cracked. There was enough room to pull him out. Grace dragged him backward inch by inch until he was free. He was bleeding badly just above his right knee. She cut through the leg of his jumpsuit and stopped herself from gagging when she saw his femur poking up through his thigh. She assessed the fracture, first checking the circulation and status of the nerves. Lucas cringed, but kept quiet. She gave him a shot of morphine to help ease the pain.
“I can try to set it, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. I could make a splint.”
“You’re a little greenish. That’s kinda cute.”
> “Focus, Lucas. We’re running out of time. I’m just gonna splint it.”
She grabbed the smaller part of the beam and used their jackets to fashion it against his leg to keep it straight. Once his leg was secure, she helped him up and balanced his weight as they trudged back to the alcove where Blythe was passed out, but still alive. Grace smashed a brick through the shop’s front door, stuck her hand through, and unlocked it. She carefully dragged Blythe inside, then propped Lucas up against the counter.
“Keep your head back,” she told Lucas.
“What’s your plan?” he mumbled through his morphine high. His face was white, and his lips were turning blue. He was going into shock.
“I’m gonna find a car and get us out of here, but I gotta find Missakian. I’m sure he’s bleeding to death somewhere. I can’t leave a man behind.”
Lucas saluted her. “You got this, Grace,” he said.
“I’ll be back. Just stay alive.”
All along Sunset Boulevard, buildings were ablaze and soot filled the air. Another missile zoomed across the skyline and careened into the Hollywood sign, blasting it to bits. If she didn’t hurry, she’d meet the same fate.
“Missakian! I know you’re out here. Give me a signal!” she yelled into the dust.
A block away, a bright orange flare shot up. She ran in that direction. On the ashy cement, she noticed a thick trail of blood. Of course the last rescue would be teeming with blood. She laughed as she followed the trail until she came upon Missakian. He was propped up in the doorway of a liquor store, blood pouring from a wound in his neck. External jugular. He still had time. She took out a clean cloth from her medical bag and applied pressure, doing her best not to obstruct his trachea or let in any air bubbles. She needed to avoid an embolism. She kept the pressure applied to ensure the blood was reaching his brain and getting oxygen into his organs, otherwise he’d go into hypovolemic shock.
“You’re doing great, dude,” she told him.
He tried to say something, but she couldn’t hear him. She got closer to his mouth. “Lost my headband,” he muttered.
She smiled and nodded, realizing he had nothing holding back his unruly hair.
“Hold this tight against your neck. I’m gonna clamp it.”
She used a makeshift medical clamp and did her best to seal off the blood flow. The worst part was over, and she needed to get him back to the others. But he couldn’t walk. She looked around for something to transport him. In the back room of the liquor store, she found a dolly. She sat Missakian on the small lift and tilted it backward, then pulled it behind her like a cart.
By the time she got to the others, the missiles had stopped and the boulevard was eerily calm.
“It’s too quiet,” she said to her injured teammates.
“I don’t think it matters,” Lucas mumbled.
Grace looked at the motley crew. They were in shambles, but they were all alive. She had performed her Search & Rescue duties. The test was over, and she had passed. She laughed and laughed . . .
Coming up out of the virtual, Grace was still laughing. “I did it!”
And so she had. She had handled every single trauma emergency put before her. And she hadn’t fainted or tried to run off to save the day. She left the Delta training room feeling confident. But there was something else to do—she needed a dress for her date with Lucas.
15
After leaving the Delta training room, Grace chimed Marion, knowing she’d be the best person to recruit for dress shopping.
“Hi.”
“How’d you do?” Marion chimed back.
Grace sent an icon of a thumbs-up.
“Congrats!”
“Celebratory shopping?”
“Meet you in the lobby . . .”
Marion showed up a few minutes later and almost tackled Grace to the ground. “I’ve missed you, Gracie!” she said with a rib-cracking hug.
“Whoa, your combat training is paying off.”
“I’m so sick of pull-ups.”
“I’m so sick of reassembling body parts.” Grace got serious for a second. “So, I need a dress for the gala event.”
“You’re actually going to the Survivor’s Shuffle?” Marion asked, surprised.
“Please don’t call it that.”
“Why the change of heart?”
Grace smiled shyly. “I kinda have a date.”
“Let me guess—your team leader?”
“How’d you know?” Grace asked.
“Pretty obvious.”
They took a transporter to the dress shop they had visited on their first day in Silicon Valley. The boutique looked even more dazzling than Grace remembered. Once again, beautiful virtual models meandered around the shop, showing off the fashions. Grace saw the soft pink dress with the wing bust.
“That one,” she said, pointing.
“The cupcake dress!” Marion squealed.
“You’re way too excited about this.”
“I’m getting the leopard one!”
Grace rolled her eyes, but those butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach again. She couldn’t wait to get dressed up and knock Lucas off his feet.
*
Grace stood in front of the bathroom mirror one more time just to make sure everything was in place. Her hair was pulled back into a twist and her makeup delicately accentuated her features, especially her green eyes. The only problem was the shoes. She had practiced walking in them all day, yet she still didn’t feel one hundred percent comfortable. Other than that, she was ready for her date with Lucas. She applied a layer of gloss on her lips and took some deep breaths to calm her jitters.
She demurely glanced up at her reflection and practiced smiling. She felt ridiculous. “You’ll be fine,” she told herself. She lifted her chin slightly and curtsied, the way a lady from the Inside might. She practiced a few times until she heard the door chime. She looked at her reflection again. “He’s here. Okay, breathe. Focus on your opponent. No, wait—he’s not your opponent. He’s your date.” She smoothed out the front of her dress and walked to the door.
Lucas stood at the entrance, donning a fitted black suit. She tried to stop her heart from exploding, but it was impossible—he looked gorgeous. The smile went from his lips, rose through his cheeks, and lit up his green eyes. She smiled and performed a curtsy.
“I know how you like tradition,” she said.
He stayed in the doorway.
“What’s wrong?” Grace felt her stomach knot up.
“How do you expect me to dance?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be falling all over you.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, kissing her cheek. “You’re exquisite. Absolutely and completely exquisite,” he whispered in her ear, sending chills up and down her spine.
She pulled away, knowing if she didn’t they’d never make it to the damn Survivor’s Shuffle. “We should go,” she said.
“Do we have to? Can’t we have our own celebration right here?”
“Marion’s waiting for me. We can always . . .” She paused. “Come back later.”
“Good enough for me.” He took her hand and kissed her again. “But don’t make me wait too long.”
The two took a transporter to the gala event.
The academy had transformed the courtyard into an enchanted garden. Strings of delicate lights hung throughout the trees. Floating orbs drifted in the atrium like tiny bubbles, changing colors and leaving behind fragrant scents. Music streamed at the perfect volume, and at the center of the garden there was a sparkling glass platform for dancing. A waiter came over and offered champagne to the couple. The effervescent beverages also shifted colors like the floating orbs.
“It’s magical,” Grace whispered.
“You’re magical. Seriously, let me look at you.”
Grace spun in a slow circle, letting the layers of fabric and underlying crinoline jet out all around her.
“Marion
says I look like a cupcake.”
“Hmm . . . Good enough to . . .”
She put her fingers on his lips.
“Speaking of Marion, check out the dance floor.” Lucas motioned over to the platform where Marion was pressed up against a handsome fellow, dancing to the slow, methodical music. Marion glanced over at Grace and Lucas, pointing to both of them, then back to her and her date.
Grace gave her the thumbs-up. “Didn’t know she had it in her,” she said.
“Didn’t know he had it in him.”
“Who?”
“Missakian,” Lucas said.
“That’s Missakian?” Grace squinted her eyes to get a better look.
The scruffy boy she ran drills with had morphed into a gentleman in a black tux and polished shoes. His unruly hair was slicked back and his skin radiated from a fresh shave. And there was no headband. He held Marion tight against his strong body, and the two glided around the floor with confidence. “He cleans up nicely,” she said.
“I might’ve given him some assistance.” Lucas winked, then took Grace’s hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’d like to show you something.”
Lucas led her to a transporter and they rode it to the roof. Outside, they could see all of Silicon Valley—lights twinkled from the streets like a million flickering candles.
“Tallest building in the valley,” he said.
They walked to the ledge and sat down, letting their feet dangle over the side. The cool night breeze sent a chill over Grace, and she leaned closer to Lucas to keep warm.
“Hope I don’t lose a shoe,” Grace said, looking at the academy campus hundreds of feet below.
“Here, let me help.” Lucas lifted each foot and removed her shoes, setting them down on the ledge.
Grace nudged them over the side, where they plummeted to their death. “I’m more of a combat-boot type of gal.”
“You’re good in anything.” He scooted closer so their legs were touching.